Persona 5 Review – Looking Cool, Joker! (PS4)

It seems that with every new release, the more popular that the Persona franchise becomes and it’s hard to believe that the franchise is now celebrating 20 years of greatness. Now with the release of Persona 5, we take another dip into the velvet room and live the regular life of a Japanese high schooler. I mean, isn’t this how it is over there? Today we review Persona 5 and see if this game was worth the wait.

Rumor: Vanquish PC port hinted in latest Bayonetta PC update

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The PC port of Bayonetta has been released recently and quickly sold over 100k in it’s first week. Naturally with the success of the Bayonetta PC port, a question that comes up is what will the future hold for potential SEGA and PlatinumGames PC ports. Well we may or may not have an answer, and surprisingly it’s from a strange update.

Bayonetta on PC has been recently updated, with a mysteriously small update at only 22KB. Out of curiosity, some people have dug into the EXTRAS folder and found a new image. A lone picture of the character Sam Gideon from Vanquish, a third person shooter by Platinum Games and SEGA originally released in 2010 on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. Why the image was quietly put into the Bayonetta folders is unknown, but it is possible that Vanquish will receive a port on PC in the future, with the image being a small teaser/easter egg. However it may also simply be a homage to another Platinum Games title published by SEGA.

Either way, the update does raise questions of a potential PC port of Vanquish, or at least something related to Vanquish. Stay tune for possible news of a PC port in the future until then.

[Source: NeoGAF]

Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 & SEGA’s Border Break X Zero having a crossover event

GuiltyGearxBorderBreakSEGA and Arc System Works are teaming up for a limited time Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and Border Break X Zero (which is still being updated since its debut in 2009) crossover event in Japanese arcades. The event will start on April 24, 2017 and end on May 24, 2017.

The Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 promotion will have the players log in using their SEGA ID, which will unlock the following Border Break X Zero goodies in Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2: A set of four in-game titles, collaboration icon set (see gallery for photo), Collaboration plate (gallery for sample), and weapons like the M90 machine gun and ‘ACHAT missile’. Check out more on that via Arc System Works’ Japanese blog post

As for the Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 items available in Border Break X Zero, that is a bit harder to decipher considering SEGA only posted the image below in the gallery. It does look like you will get custom titles, icons and even Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2  themed custom character portraits. Check out more info on the crossover via SEGA’s blog post. While SEGA-AM2’s Border Break arcade game never made a splash outside of Japan, it has been highly successful for SEGA as it launched a ton of updates (Border Break X Zero being about the 15th update), but also has gotten a huge art book (which was brought over to America via Udon Entertainment),  two full novels novels, and even a manga. What are your thoughts on this crossover? Do you think SEGA should consider bringing Border Break X Zero to the west?

DIC Entertainment, producer of Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, has a documentary on Kickstarter

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If you were a child of the 80s and 90s, there is no doubt that you saw the logo for DIC Entertainment after countless animated shows. From Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Ghostbusters, and Inspector Gadget to the Care Bears and Dennis the Menace, DIC produced some of the most memorable syndicated cartoon shows for over two decades. Now, three Australians are hoping to create a documentary on DIC and an obscure animated show created by the company in the early 90s called Twins of Destiny. The documentary, English Dub – A DIC Entertainment Story, is hoping to hit a lofty goal of nearly $19k in less than 12 days with $2,000 raised so far. You can check out the trailer and read their plans over on their Kickstarter.

Toshihiro Nagoshi confirms Yakuza team are working on more games

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Was there any doubt that Yakuza was ending? Well, Yakuza 6 has long been labeled as “the final chapter of Kazuma Kiryu”, so some have speculated that the series would take a break and the team would work on something else. During the Famitsu Awards, however, series general director Toshihiro Nagoshi confirmed that another Yakuza title is happening.

While not many specifics were given, it was said that he will not be walking back on the promise of the latest game being Kazuma Kiryu’s final chapter. Nagoshi made it clear that he wants to make a new Yakuza and that he did not want to narrow it to a single title, we could be seeing multiple games. The Yakuza 6 engine, dubbed the Dragon Engine, was said to be completed with the development of a second or third title. The timeframe for the reveal of the next game was given as “the not too distant future” and that there will be an opportunity to talk about the game early in its development.

What do you think about more Yakuza games? Would you want another prequel title, a true Yakuza 7 with a new main character, or perhaps a reboot focusing on a totally different cast?

[Source: Gematsu]

Atlus registers new Persona domains hinting at spin-offs?

vlcsnap-2015-02-12-14h56m56s136Atlus has been busy registering Persona domains in the last few weeks, Ryu’s Office, a games business marketing firm registered seven Persona domains for the publisher. It seems like these Persona domains could be related to Persona spin-offs, which Atlus has been notorious for releasing these past few years. Atlus registered the following Persona domains on April 18th.

Below is the domains they registered with guesses by Gematsu.

  • P3D.jp (Persona 3 Dancing?)
  • P5AG.jp (Persona 5 A…fter Golden?)
  • P5D.jp (Persona 5 Dancing?)
  • P5R.jp (Persona 5 R…acing?)
  • P5U.jp (Persona 5 UltimaxPersona 5 Arena?)
  • Persona-Dance.jp (Persona Dancing portal site?)
  • PQ2.jp (Persona Q: Shadows of the Labyrinth 2?)

But back in April 4, Atlus also registered the following domains. Probably to sit on them for the future, of course.

Since Atlus is doing a big Persona concert soon, which is the place they premiered Persona 5 gameplay last year, expect to see something new. Not only that, in a recent survey Atlus hinted that they were going announce a Persona related title this year, so don’t be shocked to hear something on August 2nd or before. What are your thoughts on the registered domain and do you want Atlus to continue making games featuring Persona 5 characters?

[Source: Gematsu]

 

Unboxing: Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap Press Kit

We were lucky enough to be sent a Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit by publisher DotEmu, so we decided to do a little unboxing video, which you can watch above. I will say that this is one of the best press kits I have ever seen, coming with a very authentic looking SEGA Master System box and a ton of other goodies that you can see in the video. If you didn’t know by the Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit unboxing, the game is out now digitally for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. We will be having a written and video review up on Monday, so look forward to that. What are your opinions on the Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit? Let us know in the comments below.

Want to thank DotEmu and Lizard Cube fore creating a fantastic remake of one of the best SEGA Master System games and also for sending us a Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap press kit.

If you want to support our video content, make sure to like and subscribe to our YouTube channel. We always appreciate new subscribers. You can check out some of our other unboxing videos on this playlist. Thanks for watching!

SEGA in the Media: The Circle asks “Mario or Sonic?”

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Welcome to another SEGA in the Media! Its always fun spotting references to SEGA and its games in movies and television, but for me it is doubly fun when they screw it up somehow. Like when Suburban Commando tried to act like After Burner was some outer space alien game or when Jackie Chan gave a kid in a wheelchair a Game Gear with no games. Today we’re featuring the upcoming movie The Circle. I’ll admit, I’m late on this one. The trailer released back in December, and by the time I thought to make an article I had figured the movie was already out. But nope, they’re still advertising this and it is still not out! Do we really need five months of advertising for this stupid movie?

Bayonetta on Steam has sold over 100k copies on its first week

26317ana110812_017According to Steam Spy, the PC version of Bayonetta has moved 114,007 units (as of writing this post) on its first week on sale. Bayonetta debuted on PC last week for the asking price of $19.99, which is quite the bargain. You also have to note, that Steam Spy gets its sell figures by counting owners of the game on public profiles and only on the Steam platform. If the game sold anywhere not using Steam or users have their profiles set to private, they won’t get counted. I would say this is a conservative estimate. The game is also been trending on Steam at #3, even a week after its release. Not bad for an eight year old port of a game. For example Yooka-Laylee, a game created as a Banjo-Kazooie spiritual successor has 63,870 units sold on its first week and Gearbox’s re-release of Bulletstorm Full Clip Edition has only moved 11,335 units.

I’m pretty sure the success of Bayonetta on Steam will lead to many more SEGA PC ports and we might finally see a glorious PC port of Vanquish. You know, its long over due, right SEGA?

What SEGA PC port do you want to see hit Steam? Let us know in the comments below.

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap out now on Switch, PS4 and Xbox One

The incredible looking, hand drawn remaster of Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is now out on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Publisher DotEmu has stated that the PC version of the game will be coming out early summer. You can keep up to date on the PC version via the game’s Steam page.

Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap is set to feature the following:

  • Beautiful, hand-drawn animations.
  • A re-orchestrated soundtrack.
  • Explore large, interconnected locations populated with grumpy monsters and exotic dragons!
  • Several characters with their own abilities: Lizard-Man, Mouse-Man, Piranha-Man, Lion-Man and Hawk-Man.
  • Play as the game’s classic character, “Wonder Boy”, or as his brand-new, long-awaited co-star “Wonder Girl”.
  • 3 difficulty levels catering to players of all types.
  • Switch from modern graphics and sound to 8-bit graphics/audio at any time – even during gameplay, thanks to the “Retro Feature”.

So what console are you picking up Wonder Boy: The Dragon’s Trap on? Let us know in the comments below.

Daytona Championship USA 8-Player cabinet spotted at Dave & Busters Florida

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We are getting closer to SEGA Amusement’s release of Daytona Championship USA, briefly known as Daytona 3 Championship USA before it was renamed. We even did a video discussing the name change, if you want to hear more about our opinion on it. Most fans have been wondering when they can get their hands on Daytona Championship USA and it seems if you live in Hollywood, Florida, you can play it now at Dave & Busters. They seem to have the ultra awesome 8-player linked deluxe cabinet that makes me truly envious, since I don’t live in Florida.

It also seems that SEGA Amusement already has a product page for Daytona Championship USA, for those businesses or people that want a cabinet of their own. They come in 2-Player, 4-Player and 8-Player variants. As for how much a Daytona Championship USA cabinet will cost you, I couldn’t tell you. The product page just has a contact thing to get a quote. As of today there aren’t any plans on bringing Daytona Championship USA to home consoles, I assume that’s something you would have to bother SEGA about. Now I wait for Daytona Championship USA to be spotted somewhere in California, so I can drive sky high.

[Source: Arcade Heroes]

Rumor: Sonic Mania to feature animated cut scenes

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The more we know about Sonic Mania, the more hyped we get for the upcoming title. From its in-game animation, its retro graphics, physics, controls, music, and now animated cut scenes? The above gif was spotted by a SSMB forum member on the tumblr of Max Collins. The animated gif was quickly deleted by Max Collins, which lead people to believe that the animation is something he is working on for Sonic Mania. If you never heard of Max Collins his resume includes work for Studio Yotta and Cartoon Network.

First of all, the animation is fantastic, so if he is working on this type of quality animation we are in for a big treat when Sonic Mania finally releases. The other reason that users believe its actually from Sonic Mania is that the enemy actually looks in line with the new bosses being called ‘Hard Boiled Heavy’. While we haven’t seen all the bosses yet, we have seen silhouettes which you can view below. People think its the one on the top right hand, since it seems it has lines indicating there is flying and there is a cape drifting to the left. Not to mention, Sonic CD had similar style cutscenes and we know that the developers are huge fans of Sonic CD.

What are your thoughts on this leaked animated gif by Max Collins? Would animated cut scenes in Sonic Mania get you more hyped? Sound off in the comments.

HardBoiledHeaviesSilhouettes

[Source: Sonic Stadium]

Bayonetta amiibos get a closer look

amiibophoto8If you have been living under a rock, Nintendo has announced two Bayonetta amiibos  this past week, setting them to release for July 21st. Each of the Bayonetta amiibos are based on her look from both of her games. It seems that the long haired Bayonetta amiibo design will be exclusive to select retailers. You know, weird Nintendo policies. There seems to already be a product page for the Bayonetta 2 amiibo over at Amazon.

As for what my thoughts are on the look of Bayonetta in amiibo form, it looks pretty good? I feel that amiibos look cleaner with more cartoon looking characters like Mario, Yoshi and even Sonic. I think when Nintendo does more human like amiibos, that the drawbacks of the figures is more glaring. But then again, the Bayonetta amiibos will most likely cost around $12 dollars, which isn’t much. So all things considered, if they look as good as the photographs shared by Nintendo’s twitter page, it should be well worth the cash. Word of warning, according to many comments on various blogs, most amiibos tend to look better in product screenshots. Has that been your experience? Are you going to bet the Bayonetta amiibos?

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[Via Siliconera]

Eternal Champions spiritual successor gets named, first test renders shown

adam-starcaster-highresscreenshot00203Remember SEGA’s 1993 fighting game Eternal Champions? The title was highly marketed by SEGA America as an ultra violent fighting game that was highly influenced by Mortal Kombat. It seems that Eternal Champions’ original producer Michael Latham has been working on a new fighting game which is set to be the spiritual successor to Eternal Champions and its being called “Eternal Successors“. Have to say, its a pretty damn good name.

Michael Latham said he was trying to get the official rights from SEGA, which they haven’t done anything with since the 1994 release of Eternal Champions: Challenge from the Dark Side on SEGA CD (1996 if you count loose spin-off title X-Perts). Michael also shared some test renders of what the game would look like running on Unreal Engine 4. If you want to give Michael Latham some feedback on Eternal Successors, check out his shoryuken forum thread here. He says that they are trying to do justice to the original SEGA Genesis color pallet with the renders and they have done a good job, I think. Not sold on the paint like filter, but the color scheme is pretty great.

More information for those that never got to play Eternal Champions,  the character with the yellow helmet is Trident from the first game, the other character is hard to tell since they have been ‘overtkill’ which is basically a fatality in Eternal Champions. Seeing as it looks like a female wearing high heels, I will have to guess its Shadow Yamoto. The stage that is being rendered is also known as ‘Trident’s Stage’, you can check the original stage here and compare it with the renders.

SEGA and WWE join forces for mobile game WWE Tap Mania

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SEGA and WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.) have announced that they are partnering to release a new mobile game titled WWE Tap Mania. The game, developed by Tap Lab, is said to star WWE Superstars from the past and present. Little else in terms of gameplay has been revealed, but the game will feature live in-game events based on real WWE shows including WrestleMania, SummerSlam and Royal Rumble.

Naoki Kameda, COO of SEGA’s western mobile devision had this to say about the game:

At Sega, we like to find new ways to bring brands and experiences to a wide mobile gaming audience. This partnership with WWE presents a fresh opportunity for collaboration. Working with WWE, a monumental leader in global entertainment, along with The Tap Lab, a studio known for crafting action-packed games that are fun at their core, we’re confident that WWE Tap Mania will delight WWE fans worldwide.

The game is set to launch for free to iOS and Android later this year. From the sound of it, SEGA is simply acting as a publisher with some additional support. SEGA will offer details on WWE Tap Mania in the coming months via Twitter and Facebook. More information as we hear it!

[Source: WWE]